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Lutheran
Evan E. Boyd, Convener

PRESENT

• Evan Boyd, United Lutheran Seminary, Convener
• Elli Cucksey, Capital University
• Susan Ebertz, Wartburg Theological Seminary
• Andy Keck, Southern Methodist University
• Richard Lammert, Concordia Theological Seminary (IN)
• Sandy Leach, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary
• Roger Peters, Concordia Theological Seminary (IN)
• Robert Roethemeyer, Concordia Theological Seminary (IN)
• Armin Siedlecki, Emory University
• Robert Smith, Concordia Theological Seminary (IN)
• Mary Ann Teske, Luther Seminary
• Christine Wenderoth, JKM Library Trust

The Lutheran Denominational Group met in-person during the Atla 
Annual conference in Vancouver, Canada. During the meeting, the 
group formalized its description, purpose, charge, and plan of orga-
nization. In addition, initial discussions were held around a future 
LibGuide focused on Lutheran reference resources and future collabo-
rations regarding archives and Lutheran libraries. 

DESCRIPTION OF LUTHERAN DENOMINATIONAL GROUP

The Lutheran Denominational Group is a group composed of indi-
viduals serving Lutheran institutions & collections or that have an 
interest in Lutheran higher education. The group meets annually to 
offer an opportunity for its members to update one another about 
what our institutions have been working on and hope to accomplish 
in the future.



26  ANNUAL YEARBOOK

PURPOSE

The Lutheran Denominational Group provides a space to share 
successes, challenges, and mentorship for those serving Lutheran-
related collections and archives.

CHARGE

To collaborate and create connections for professional development.

PLAN OF ORGANIZATION

As a loosely-structured organization, the Lutheran Denominational 
group mostly functions through an annual convener, who coordinates 
any ad hoc committees that come from the annual meeting.

ARCHIVES DISCUSSION

The various archives and Lutheran higher education libraries scat-
tered around the United States do not have a consistent, formal rela-
tionship, regionally or nationally. A future, concentrated effort to 
connect the needs of the archives and libraries to the congregational, 
regional, and national church may lead to better work together. There 
is a particular concern around the orphaning of smaller collections 
that may or may not be known by the greater community. Working 
together to craft stories and narratives that show the importance of the 
documents to the mission of their respective constituencies may be a 
way to fundraise for the long-term success of these various archives. 
A hope to have a future gathering of the leadership of the archives of 
Lutheran Churches in the United States was expressed. Questions of 
funding to come together were raised.

INSTITUTIONAL UPDATES:

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago: Christine Wenderoth retired on 
June 30, 2019. JKM is looking for a new director and LSTC hired three 
new faculty in 2018–2019, with one more search in process.

Wartburg Theological Seminary: Wartburg will have a very large new 
student cohort this Fall. In addition, they have joined the Digital Theo-



Denominational Group Meetings  27

logical Library.

Luther Seminary: May 2019 was the launch/first cohort of the MDivX 
2-year program.

Concordia-Fort Wayne: Just completed a two-year inventory project. 
Working on its institutional self-study for ATS and assurance argu-
ment for the Higher Learning Commission. Costs are increasing, 
as the State of Indiana is no longer paying for discovery & delivery 
services.

Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary: New Rector & Dean, Dr. Mary 
Shore, began in January, which is leading to reorganization. ATS self-
study is under works.

United Lutheran Seminary: Organization has stabilized under its interim 
president. Two new faculty are joining the institution in the fall and 
an additional chair was established, with the area to be determined 
by the faculty in the future. The library and its archives have received 
two digitization grants.


